We are seeking your feedback on our draft Customer Service Charter and Action Plan 2023-2025.

Our draft Customer Service Charter outlines the level of service we aim to provide to our customers. We aim to action the Charter within the objectives set out in our draft Customer Service Action Plan 2023-2025.

We want to hear your feedback on the documents to help inform them and shape your customer service experience.

Share your views by completing this short survey here.

The consultation is open for feedback until 5pm on 12 July 2023.

We have published the first Graduate Entry General Nurse Registration Education Programme Standards and Requirements for education bodies and their practice partners.

The publication provides the first education pathway in Ireland for people who already hold a National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ) level 8 undergraduate bachelor’s degree and wish to complete an education programme leading to registration as a general nurse.

The standards set out that the programme will be delivered over a minimum of two calendar years, covering the following areas for study:

• Professional values and nurse conduct competencies
• Nursing practice and clinical decision-making competencies
• Knowledge and cognitive competencies
• Communication and interpersonal competencies
• Management and team competencies
• Leadership potential and professional scholarship competencies.

Launching the standards, our CEO Sheila McClelland said: “We are keenly aware in NMBI that we are experiencing a shortage of workers across the Irish healthcare sector. A key priority for us, as set out in our new Statement of Strategy 2023-2025, is to review the entry pathways into nursing and midwifery and try to establish alternative routes into the professions. Graduate entry nursing is a positive development which will open up the career to a wider audience and allow for a more diverse nursing workforce.

“The standards set out that a graduate entry nursing general education programme will aim to ensure that graduates will be equipped with the essential knowledge, values, attitude and skills necessary to be a competent and professional Registered General Nurse on completion of the programme.

“The standards and requirements we developed aim to support education bodies and their practice partners to develop high-quality training and education for graduate entry nursing to ensure quality and safe services to all patients. They also provide guidance for people considering entering nursing as a graduate on what to expect from the education programme.

 “I would like to thank everyone who has involved in the development of these standards and requirements, including registered nurses and midwives, heads of nursing and academic curriculum leads, practice partners, and public representative groups. We look forward to working with all stakeholders as they develop the first programmes for approval by NMBI.”

The standards and requirements are now available on our website.

Our CEO, Sheila McClelland has welcomed the announcement of 692 additional places for nursing and midwifery education programmes by Government last month. 

Sheila was a member of the Higher Education Authority’s Expert Advisory Panel which was set up to review opportunities for new additional places in education programmes for a number of professions. She joined the panel as representative of the professional and regulatory body responsible for nursing and midwifery. 

Speaking about the impact of the additional places, Sheila said: “We welcome the announcement of almost 700 additional places in nursing and midwifery education programmes in higher education bodies by Government. These additional places will help ensure we continue the work to address the shortage of nurses and midwives in the healthcare sector and create new pathways for entry into the professions. It is timely as the publication of the first edition of standards and requirements for graduate entry nursing education programmes means that education bodies can now commence development of this entry pathway. 

“We look forward to engaging with the Department and education bodies to ensure that nurses and midwives continue to be educated to the highest possible standard to meet the needs of the healthcare sector and Irish population into the future.”  

Further details about the additional places and a breakdown of them is available from the Department of Further and Higher Education website.

Our Director of Education, Policy and Standards, Carolyn Donohoe, presented at the event about the evolution of education and practice standards for nursing.

She discussed the changes and improvements made to our site inspection process for education programmes that lead to registration as a nurse or midwife over the past year. She also shared the latest standards and requirements for the profession such as digital health competency, DXA scanning and graduate entry nursing.

Our President, Louise Kavanagh McBride, and our Professional Officers, Lorraine Clarke Bishop and Mary Devane, were also in attendance to meet with nurses and colleagues in bodies such as the Department of Health, Health Service Executive and education bodies.

On 15 June, we published the first edition of standards and requirements to ensure digital health competencies are developed in nursing and midwifery education programmes.

The Digital Health Competency Standards and Requirements for Undergraduate Nursing and Midwifery Education Programmes provide guidance for education bodies and practice partners on how to equip undergraduate nursing or midwifery students with the digital health competencies required to support and enable person-centred care.

Digital health is defined as the use of information and communication technologies to improve health and healthcare services and facilitate wellness.

Launching the standards, Carolyn Donohoe, Director of Education, Policy and Standards, said: “These standards and requirements aim to ensure that our nursing and midwifery education programmes stay up to date and adapt to evolving healthcare. It is anticipated that, given the speed with which digital technologies are being adopted and the range of clinical placements that students complete, students will be afforded opportunities to engage in a range of digital technologies to support the development of digital health competency. They aim to ensure that nursing and midwifery undergraduate education programmes teach digital health competencies in a flexible, innovative and practice-oriented way.

“NMBI looks forward to working with and supporting education bodies and their practice partners as digital health is incorporated into their education programme.”

The standards and requirements were developed following extensive consultation with nurses and midwives, including through a public consultation earlier this year, and in collaboration with an expert working group to align with national and international evidence-based practice.

You can read the standards and requirements here. The report on the consultation is available here.

Our CEO, Sheila McClelland, took part in a panel discussion as part of the Irish University Association’s (IUA’s) Future of Ireland event on 15 June.

The event was hosted by Newstalk’s Shane Coleman to discuss the challenges facing universities in producing the future skills needs for the health sector as the number of student places across medical and nursing professions expands.

Opening the event, Minister Stephen Donnelly discussed the need to increase the number of healthcare places in education bodies across the country, educate students to the highest possible standard and ensuring they are equipped for the future and ensure students have a positive experience during their study and placement.

Following the keynote address, Sheila took part in a panel discussion with the Minister, Professor Orla Sheils, Vice Provost Trinity College Dublin (TCD), and Professor Stephen Byrne, Deputy President University College Cork (UCC).

Pictured (L-R): Professor Orla Sheils,Vice Provost at TCD; Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly; Jim Miley, IUA Director General; Sheila McClelland, NMBI CEO and Stephen Byrne, Deputy President UCC

Sheila highlighted the importance of working collaboratively to increase clinical placements for nursing and midwifery students in order to increase capacity at education bodies, and ensuring placements are also based in the community to prepare for the move to community-based care in line with Sláintecare.

She said it was important for regulators to be flexible and adapt to change in a rapidly changing healthcare environment, stating NMBI is the first regulator to set education standards and requirements to build digital health competency in undergraduate programmes for health professionals.  

Over 300 people attended the event either in-person in The Alex Hotel, Dublin or online.

The event was closed by Jim Miley, IUA Director General, who summarised the proceedings and conversations before thanking the Minister, panellists and attendees.

Last month, we held our first focus group with nurses who were internationally educated and had recently joined the Register.

We met with registered nurses who volunteered to discuss their experiences and feedback of completing an adaptation or assessment period as part of a compensation measure to become a registered nurse in Ireland.

Their feedback will help inform a review of our guidance document on ‘Compensation Measures for Nurses Trained Outside of Ireland’.

Further focus groups will be taking place in July with the support of adaptation leads in clinical settings. We look forward to continuing to consult with internationally educated nurses going forward.

Our Board met in Atlantic Technological University (ATU) Donegal’s Letterkenny campus on 14 June.

The Board meeting was a chance to discuss NMBI’s ongoing strategy to protect, promote and progress the professions of nursing and midwifery.

Meeting in the northwest allowed our Board and Senior Management Team (SMT) to meet with stakeholders and open up dialogue about the challenges and opportunities in nursing and midwifery practice placements and the higher education landscape. This conversation followed on from the Summer Series NMBI hosted across a number of education bodies in Summer 2022.

Reflecting on the Board meeting in Donegal, our Board President, Louise Kavanagh McBride, who is also Head of the Department of Nursing and Healthcare at ATU Donegal, said:

“It was a pleasure to host NMBI Board colleagues and SMT at the ATU, Donegal Letterkenny campus last month. The meeting allowed us to come together and focus on how we will implement our Statement of Strategy 2023-2025 for the betterment of the professions and the public.

“At the campus, we also met with a representative cohort of key stakeholders from the Local Joint Working Group, ATU (Donegal, Mayo and Sligo campuses) and colleagues from HSE northwest to explore the challenges and opportunities currently faced in nursing and midwifery. We listened to stakeholders’ views and the voice of final year internship students. This provided a platform to reflect and establish insights towards shared priorities of the Strategy and the professions.

“Such forums highlight the importance of the Board engagement and allow us to work together with stakeholders to drive improvements both nationally and regionally. We must continue to strive forward with agility and resilience for future changes in terms of Slaintecare, modernised care pathways, advanced practice and shaping nursing and midwifery capacity. We hope this will impact positively for a healthy, sustainable future for all”.

Thanks to ATU for hosting us and facilitating the Board meeting. NMBI looks forward to hosting its annual regional series and engagement forums in the Autumn.

We met with members of the Association of Nigerian Nurses in Ireland (ANNI) on 7 June.

Our CEO, Sheila McClelland, Director of Registration, Dr Ray Healy, and Head of Operations Kathyann Barrett met with the group following an invitation to discuss the issues facing registrants from Nigeria.

Ms McClelland discussed the role of NMBI as the regulator for the nursing and midwifery professions, while Dr Healy provided detail on the recognition and registration process.

Our State of the Register report in 2022 found that there were 680 nurses and midwives of Nigerian nationality on the Register.

We were delighted to welcome Her Excellency, Ambassador Aisha Farooqui, to our office earlier last month.

On 9 June, our CEO Sheila McClelland, Director of Registration Dr Ray Healy and Head of Operations Kathyann Barrett met with Ambassador Farooqui and Mr Shahid Iqbal, the Embassy’s Deputy Head of Mission.

During the meeting, we discussed the processes for the recognition of qualifications and the registration of nurses and midwives from Pakistan.

In our State of the Register report in 2022, we reported that there were 28 registered nurses and midwives from Pakistan in Ireland as of 1 June 2022.

Speaking about the visit, Sheila McClelland said: “It was a pleasure to welcome the Ambassador to our offices and discuss how we are assisting nurses and midwives from Pakistan wishing to come onto the Register of Nurses and Midwives who can practise in Ireland. We look forward to this engagement continuing in the future.”

In early June, we hosted a group of delegates representing nursing from various US states. 

The group was led by Carol Huston, a nurse educator and former Director of School of Nursing and Professor Emerita at California State University.

The group included nurse educationalists, clinical and advanced practice representatives and a student nurse. They met with our Education, Policy and Standards Department in our offices in Blackrock.

The meeting allowed for cross-cultural information sharing and learning. We discussed the similarities and differences between Ireland and the United States with regards to the training and education of healthcare professionals, as well as Code of Conduct and scope of practice. The conversations included:

• Nursing education in Ireland, specifically innovative teaching strategies.
• The move to community health nursing in Ireland, in line with Sláintecare.
• Preceptorship models, and the importance of nurturing the culture of nursing between student nurses and experienced nurses in Ireland.
• The retention and recruitment challenges to the nursing and midwifery professions in Ireland.
• Developing new pathways into the professions of nursing and midwifery.

We look forward to continuing to engage with international colleagues to support the education of nurses and midwives in Ireland.